Edward Lear

Athwart the Place of Tombs, Kleissoura, Albania, for Morte d' Arthur by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Maker

Edward Lear (English, 1812-1888)

Title

Athwart the Place of Tombs, Kleissoura, Albania, for Morte d' Arthur by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Year

ca. 1850 - 1888

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

wash technique, pen and ink

Dimensions

8.1 x 14.8 cm (3 3/16 x 5 13/16 inches) (sheet)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Initialled in black ink, LR corner:EL monogram

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Anonymous gift

Object Number

84.203.2

Type

Exhibition History

Fantasy, Myth, Legend
Imagining the Past in Works on Paper since 1750
Dec 16, 2023 – Jun 02, 2024

Label copy

Edward Lear was an artist and author, and an illustrator of his friend Alfred Tennyson’s poems. This drawing portrays King Arthur’s death in the Idylls of the King, a series of 12 Arthurian poems Tennyson published between 1859 and 1885. These poems were metaphors for Victorian society, and presented the medieval king Arthur as the ideal gentleman.

In this work, Lear drew the dramatic mountains of Albania instead of the English countryside. His choice to place huddled figures and ghostly tombs within this striking landscape shows the Romantic era’s interest in sensationalizing the myth of King Arthur. 

–RN

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Edward Lear (English, 1812-1888)
Athwart the Place of Tombs, Kleissoura, Albania, for Morte d' Arthur by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, ca. 1850 - 1888
Pen and ink, wash, and pencil on paper
8.1 x 14.8 cm (3 3/16 x 5 13/16 inches) (sheet)
Anonymous gift 84.203.2

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